Italy Advisor

It is time to cook and it is winter season. In this cold weather we need a pasta based main dish who can sustain you after the simple “eat and rush” sandwiches you had for lunch. So for all your family a simple baked pasta recipe, very tasty and easy to prepare.

Ziti al forno (baked Ziti)

 

A special dish coming from the Italian tradition that will smash you up. Usually our grand mothers baked the pasta leftovers with mozzarella and tomatoes sauce and make a delicious main course for Sunday big lunch. In this recipe we will make everything from scratch adding a bit of protein in the sauce, aka the beef. Let this dish amaze you and your guests for lunch or dinner.

Author: Maria Claudia Bada

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 400 gr dry ziti pasta
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 garlic
• 400 gr lean ground beef
• 7-8 tomatoes
• 6 slices provolone cheese
• 6 mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 basil leaves

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until before being "al dente" about 7 minutes; drain.
2. In a large pan, you will brown the garlic and the onion. Add the ground beef over medium heat. Add the 7 tomatoes, and simmer 15 minutes. Slice the last one and save it for decoration.
3. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. Use a large baking dish. Add on the bottom the sauce, ½ of the ziti, ½ of the Provolone cheese, ½ mozzarella cheese. Finish the top layer with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven, until all the cheeses are melted.

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2013 at 5:02 pm and is filed under Italian Recipes and Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.